One Out of Five

One Out of Five

Four births and five pregnancies we lost our first baby, but went on to have four more. I would like to share with you my first child that I birth and she lives. We name her Sherree LaJoyce, 8”6oz, and 21 in long. Let’s start at the beginning, after losing the first child I was a little scared about trying to get pregnant again. Our family encourages us to try again and we did, and after the doctor told us we were pregnant, I would watch what I ate, and I would not drink any soft drinks. I would eat a lot of salads, and a little pizza with extra mushroom. My doctor checkups were good, and I gain the two pounds every two weeks, until my last eight weeks. We were overseas in Japan and I went to my Air force doctor until I was 28 weeks. Then I went to the big hospital were the Navy doctors were and I had to see the doctor every week. He told me I was having a girl, and I told him, “No I’m having a boy.” There were many days I would read to my baby, sing to her, and I was around music all the time because my husband was a musician and I would sing in the choir. I would read birthing book so I would know how my baby was developing each week. My husband would yell at my belly and talk to the baby every chance he got. During my last weeks before she came into the world on June 27, 1986 at 7:00pm in Okinawa, Japan at the Lester hospital, and delivered by my doctor Dr. Butler of the United States Air Force. Everything worked out; my doctor was there to deliver my baby, my husband was there to help, and things went pretty fast. The day of her birth I went to the hospital early that morning but they sent me back home, and we were at home for maybe four hours and I told my husband take me back because I was hurting to bad. I was able to walk in the hospital while my husband parked the car, as I hugged the wall to go to the fifth floor to deliver  people asked to help they could see I was in a lot of pain, but I kept moving. By the time I got to the fifth floor my husband had made it too. After they checked me out they said,” I was 4 cem.”They put the monitor’s on to watch how I was progressing, and then I began to vomit, and they came in gave me a shot and it stop and I began to push, they call it crowning. They told my husband it will be around 11:00 that night, but my child had other plans. I could feel so much pressure, and I told the nurse I had to use the bathroom, and she let me get out of the bed to go to the bathroom.  Nothing came out, but I know I had to go, and the nurse asked me to come back to the bed, and I lost it, I told her all it takes is a little time and I’m not getting up. My husband and the nurse had to put me back on the bed, and the doctor came in and told me he was going to break my water but when he went to do it, he realize it was the baby head with a lot of hair. He orders me to the delivery room and they gave my husband the greens to put on. My husband was in shock and he was just standing there said,” You said it would be 11:00.” Still in shock he put the greens on and follows us into the delivery room. After the doctor did what he needed to do I pushed four times and my big baby girl was here, she was white and hair was all over her body. Three days later we took her home in a white track suit trimmed in colors, it was a girl. She was a quiet baby, and slept all night at 6 weeks. Hope you don’t mind me sharing my heart of my oldest child birth.

Having a Baby in Spain

You might think that having a baby in Spain is the same as having a baby in the UK or any other country, but there are a number of big differences. In particular, pregnancy and childbirth are a lot more medicalised here than in the UK - many more ante-natal tests are performed as standard, and intervention rates during childbirth are high.
As in the UK, maternity services and practices in Spain vary greatly from region to region. The following guide is based on expats' experiences in Malaga and Granada.

Spanish Maternity Services

As mentioned in the article about healthcare in Spain, most maternity services are not covered by a European Health Insurance Card, so if you are pregnant, or if you plan to get pregnant while living in Spain, get your social security or health insurance sorted out as soon as possible.
Once you discover you are pregnant, you need to make an appointment as soon as possible with your doctor. In some doctor's surgeries, there is a community midwife who deals with all ante-natal appointments so tell the receptionist that you are pregnant when you make the appointment.

References

http://spain.othercountries.com/pages/articles/index.asp?page=maternity